Oscar-Winning Star, 67, Opens Up About Retirement After Seeing Her Iconic Parents Receive Fewer Roles With Age

Jamie Lee Curtis is being refreshingly honest about her plans to retire. The “Freakier Friday” Star says she is getting ready to step away from acting when the time feels right.

Curtis, 67, spoke with People at the December 9 premiere of her new film, “Ella McCay,” in Los Angeles, where she admitted that retirement is something she often thinks about.

“I am done self-retiring. But no, of course I’ll retire,” the Oscar-winning star said. She pointed to her recent interview with the Today show’s Willie Geist, where she acknowledged she has “probably claimed retirement four times” before.

She added that her earlier comments were missing context. “What he didn’t use was the example I was giving was my parents. So what he didn’t use was the context of that statement,” she explained.

She Reflects on Her Parents Losing Opportunities as They Aged

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Curtis said her perspective on retirement comes from watching her parents, actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, face dwindling opportunities as they grew older.

“The context of that statement was I watched my parents, who loved this industry, who were mega stars. I’m a little minor twilight,” she said.

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“They were mega, mega in their era, and they were denied access to the very thing they loved to do, which was the movies, acting in the movies. And I watched both of them lose that life force because of aging and just getting older. They just didn’t have those opportunities, and it was heartbreaking.”

Leigh died in 2004 at 77, and Tony died in 2010 at 85.

Curtis has often spoken about how their struggles in their final years influenced the way she thinks about aging and longevity in Hollywood.

Curtis Wants to Leave on Her Own Terms

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Curtis said her interest in retiring comes from wanting to step away on her own terms rather than wait for the industry to decide for her.

“The whole reason I’ve talked about self-retiring is, I’m going to leave before you don’t ask me to come anymore,” she told People. “That’s the point. I’m going to step away before you no longer go, ‘Hey, Jamie, come here.’”

“Because it’s too humiliating for me,” she added. “And I was raised around it, and therefore I felt like I want to take advantage of the opportunities that I have and then always have one foot out the door.”

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She echoed the same thought in her recent Today interview, where she said she wants to “get out before you no longer ask me to be in.”

She Is Grateful for Success Later in Life

Even with retirement on her mind, Curtis said her recent success has made this stage of her career feel especially meaningful.

When Geist mentioned how much acclaim she has received in the past few years, she agreed. “There’s nothing about it that isn’t just feeling perfect. I’m so happy it’s happening now at my age. I’m trying to make sure I check my boxes off before I go, but I’m having a really good time. It’s awesome.”

Curtis walked the “Ella McCay” red carpet with her husband, Christopher Guest. The film arrives in theaters December 12.

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